


All I Want For Christmas (Is You)

by Alexilulu



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 10:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14892914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexilulu/pseuds/Alexilulu
Summary: An idyllic Christmas gathering. What could be better?





	All I Want For Christmas (Is You)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my piece for the [Makoannthology Zine](https://twitter.com/makoannthology), posted with permission from the organizers, exactly as it appears in the book. 
> 
> It's weird to see something you wrote relatively long ago (6 months is a long time, damn it) again, but I'm still pretty happy with this one!, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Timeline is 2 years postgame, so December of 20XZ, so to speak.

**December 22th**

Under a slow blanket of snow descending across the city, Ann and Shiho brave the icy streets of Tokyo in search of the perfect Christmas gift. The typically bustling crowds in Shinjuku are far thinner than normal, thanks to the massive volume of snow stopping most of the aboveground trains until it clears. The foot traffic is limited to people desperate enough to brave the storm to buy Christmas knick-knacks or a last-minute gift in the sprawl of department stores, Don Quixotes and everything in between. The two of them have trudging through the snow for hours, making the freezing hike in silence for fear of letting out too much precious warm air and freezing by the time they get there. Now that they’re finally in Shinjuku, they’ve set up in the corner of a cavernously empty Starbucks with hot coffee (Ann had to be talked out of buying herself a frapp for her own safety) and have begun talking strategy.

Shiho takes a long pull of her venti half-caf black chai latte™ and sighs contentedly. “Okay. So, refresh my memory for me, this is your second Christmas together, yeah?” Ann doesn’t respond immediately, her hands barely emerging from her enormous parka to wrap around her tall double shot cappuccino. Shiho leans forward, snapping her fingers in front of Ann’s dazed expression until she jolts out of her reverie.

“Huh? What?” Ann takes a furtive sip of her coffee, grimacing downwards at it like it bit her before looking over at the pile of sweeteners over by the bar until Shiho attracts her attention again with another snap of her fingers.

“I did not drag myself out here in a foot of snow for you to give up now, girl, so please wake up and tell me what you got Makoto last year. I need something to work off of if we’re gonna get this done.” Ann takes another sip while Shiho speaks, shivering either from the taste or the warmth.

“Uhh, a pair of fingerless gloves and a new braid headband? Both of them were falling apart, she’d had them for years and years and they looked awful. Well, the braid was less obvious, but…” She shakes her head to clear her thoughts, drinking her coffee again. “Can I go get some sugar? This coffee is gonna kill me if I drink any more.”

“Suck it up, Ann. Okay, practical stuff, that makes sense. I never really got to know her in school, so you gotta help me out with interests and dislikes and all that. We have to know our enemy before we can strike her weak spots. Now stay here and think about it, I’ll grab sugar for you, you big baby.” Shiho stands, walking to the other side of the cafe, making light small talk with the barista as she goes.

Ann groans. If dating Makoto were like going to high school, Ann’s worst subject would be Makoto’s Interests. She’s so private, or maybe just closed-off...either way, she’s hard for Ann to read. She knows Makoto doesn’t like the dark or bugs, enjoys cooking for her, and is really serious about her coursework. She’s also super practical; Makoto’s gift for Ann last year was a nice wool muffler since Ann complains about the cold so much, and a reinforced motorcycle jacket (that was a perfect fit, despite Ann not telling Makoto her size, of course) in case they end up in an accident while riding. She’s so damn thoughtful. Ann’s train of thought gets violently derailed by Shiho slapping her on the back as she puts down a fistful of sugar packets in front of her.

“So, any progress?” Ann starts methodically emptying every precious sugar packet into her paper cup as Shiho sits down, using the time to come up with an actual answer that doesn’t sound like a long repeated vowel. Shiho, for her part, lets her take her time, savoring her own drink. After Ann taste-tests her coffee and finally approves of the taste 10 packets later, she replies.

“Mmmh...She likes doing stuff, like cooking or exercise or studying, and likes stuff she can use...and she’s way too thoughtful.” Shiho nods, her expression growing complex as the gears turn in her head.

“How thoughtful are we talking? Like, random gifts when she visits thoughtful?”

“She once brought me a bottle of my favorite milk tea and a little purse-sized bottle of headache medicine while I was at a shoot, while i was in the process of texting her to ask her for help. She just did it because she was ‘in the area’.” Ann’s hollow gaze bores into Shiho’s as she continues. “She’s like a thoughtful psychic ninja. She does things for me before I even know I need them done...”

“Whew. Okay...practical we can work with. And with what you said...She’s probably sentimental too, then, so we should get something you can personalize for her. This should be easy!” Shiho tries to summon some enthusiasm by holding both her hands up for Ann to high-five, but the both of them are so drained from the cold, it ends up looking more like Shiho is trying to shove Ann away from her by force of will alone, until Ann weakly meets her friend’s hands with her own.

“Okay, finish your coffee, we gotta go. No time like the present!” Shiho shuffles to her feet, draining the last of her cup in one long chug while Ann takes a series of small sips until it’s gone.

“Hey, Shiho?” Ann rattles her cup, the dregs of coffee sloshing around against the paper.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for doing this with me.” Shiho claps Ann on the shoulder, smiling.

“Pfft, you know I’d do basically anything for you, girl.” Once she’s done, Shiho pulls Ann to her feet with both hands, the two of them leaning on each other for support as they head back out into the blizzard to begin their search in earnest.

* * *

 

**December 24th**

Ann fidgets impatiently at their shared kitchen table, plucking at her flannel-lined leggings in search of stray threads, adjusting and readjusting her skirt and pulling at the cuffs of her cream white blouse (a birthday present from last year that she always uses for special occasions only). Mostly though, she’s watching Makoto work at the stovetop over a pot of grease, expertly fishing out fully fried pieces of chicken and replacing them with more uncooked chunks of seasoned white meat.

Last year, Ann managed to secure them a bucket of KFC through some trickery with favors some of the photoshoot staff owed her, but this year they were forced to make their own at home. Not that she’s complaining since Makoto’s cooking is out of this world; it just felt good to be the one providing for her girlfriend for once. Since Makoto insisted on cooking, she’s taking care of everything tonight, leaving Ann to sit anxiously behind her and try not to worry about how the rest of the night will go.

She looks over her shoulder into the living room, where two pairs of boxes sit on the table in front of the TV. She can’t help but worry; one of her boxes is gigantic, while the other is tiny, but...the ones Makoto got her are both rather small...Did she go overboard? Haru helped pay for the bigger present after a phone call, since it’s really nice...Ugh.

She sighs to herself, turning back and checking her phone. Ryuji seems to be enjoying Christmas with Akira, and also Futaba is there in the background? I guess they’re doing a western Christmas too. Man, I can’t afford to get everybody a present, this is no fair! Akira’s instagram is full of freshly shot photos of them posing together in Christmas hats in his dreary room above Leblanc, laughing, showing off the pair of really nice patent leather boots Ryuji got him...Jeez, they’ve been posting pics for hours, and we haven’t even started! This punk’s making me look bad again. Gotta make our christmas shots count...

Setting her phone down on the table, she stands and stretches, groaning as joints pop. At least I’m not sick anymore, posting romantic stuff in a surgical mask is not a good look. Neither is getting Makoto sick because I wanted to kiss her…She tries to sneak up on Makoto, but her prey catches her halfway there with an over-the-shoulder glance and a small grin.

“Don’t get too impatient now, I’m almost done.” She turns back to her task, putting the last of the fried chicken into the oil and setting the plate she was holding on the counter.

“C’mon, I gotta do something tonight, I feel bad letting you do all the work!” Ann leans onto the counter next to Makoto, peering into the pot to watch the chicken brown. “All the side dishes are ready already?” Makoto points to the spread of dishes heaped with rice, cucumber salad, two bowls of miso soup and a few slices of lemon laid out on the counter in front of Ann. “...Oh, right. Maaaaan…” She slumps, and Makoto pats her on the cheek with her left hand while pulling another chunk of chicken out of the pot and setting it out to dry with her right.

“It’s okay, Ann, I’ve got everything handled. Just try to relax, okay? Tonight’s gonna be great, I made sure of it. If you really want to help out, you can set everything out on the table, and I’ll be over with the chicken in a second.”

“Yeah, okay…” She grabs Makoto’s hand before she can pull it away and kisses it on the knuckles. “Thank you for doing all of this work, babe.” Makoto blushes, turning back to her work and grinning. Ann busies herself shifting plates and bowls to the table while Makoto looks down at her hand with a dazed expression.

“Y-yeah, don’t worry about it.” Ann grins, reveling in how easily she can get Makoto to start stuttering with just the simplest bit of affection. Ann intentionally bumps Makoto with her hip when she comes back for the last of the dishes while Makoto divides the chicken from it’s drying rack onto two plates, eliciting further blushing and a bigger smile from the both of them.

Ann sits down again right as Makoto sets their plates of golden-brown chicken on the table, slipping out of her apron and hanging it on the back of her chair before sitting down across from Ann. They busy themselves parting out bits of food for each other and passing dishes until both of them are ready to eat.

“Merry Christmas, Makoto.”

“Aren’t we supposed to say that after we open presents?” Makoto chuckles, taking a bite of cucumber salad.

“This is basically the first present of the night! You cooked an incredible dinner for us, it’s definitely a present for my mouth.” Ann takes a bite of fried chicken, closing her eyes and delighting in the crunchy morsel.

“Well, I can’t argue with that, can I?”

“Nope, not allowed.” The rest of the meal passes with light ribbing and as many superlatives about Makoto’s cooking that Ann can come up with, along with some playful footsie under the table until they’re both spending more time messing around than clearing their plate.

* * *

 

“Okay, hold still, and…!” Ann adjusts the camera on it’s tripod one last time then sprints onto the couch, sprawling out in Makoto’s lap and flashing a big smile, the side of her head pressed to Makoto’s brand new full-face motorcycle helmet, fresh out of the box. Once the flash goes off and the camera clicks, they both relax, Makoto flipping up the tinted visor.

“Okay, is that enough now? This thing is actually kind of stuffy indoors…”

“One more? I haven’t taken one with my new sunglasses on! I was thinking maybe you could carry me in it, too? Ooh, can you get your motorcycle gear on too? You’d look really badass doing it!” Makoto grimaces, but nods.

“Only one though, okay? I don’t know how long I can carry you for, I’ve been slacking on my gym routine.” She slides Ann out of her lap and stands, flipping the visor back down and walking into their shared bedroom to find her road gear. Ann grabs a case off the table and settles into the couch, turning the expensive sunglasses over and over in her hands again and again before popping it open and shut a few times.

They’re so nice, and so expensive, that she’s actually terrified of putting them on. She’s worn designers for shoots, but this is like, hers, and it feels so weird to say that. She owns designer sunglasses! In school she mostly wore knockoffs, if only because she was worried about breaking them and being out like 3 months worth of modeling money, all because she wanted to show off. But now she owns a designer thing, and now she realizes how addicting it can be. Now she’s gotta match it with something, and that’ll need a coordinated outfit, and and and! She opens the case again, plucking them out and inspecting them for the twentieth time that night. God, they’re gorgeous.

She puts them on, turning to get her good side (her left, of course) and taking a few selfies for later instagram use, sending the best one to Makoto’s phone sitting on the table, which rattles with the notification and causes the blank picture charm attached to it to skitter across the table. They still have to get pictures in there...Maybe the purikura booths won’t be too crazy tomorrow, everybody’ll be at home enjoying the holiday. She looks at her matching charm hanging off her own phone case, which Makoto had gotten her. Somehow they both had the same idea for a gift. It was really cute; Makoto was so embarrassed explaining it but she said she wanted Ann to have something to remind her of them all the time...Ann had  been thinking the same thing when they were in Shinjuku, but Makoto didn’t have a case that could hold one for her phone, so Ann got her a really nice hard plastic one to go with it.

“Alright, how does this look?” Ann looks up towards Makoto’s voice, flipping her sunglasses up onto her forehead to get a better look. Makoto is almost posing in the doorway in her motorcycle jacket and pants, the helmet tucked under her arm. Ann specifically picked the new helmet because it matched her gear, which her dinky little baby blue chinstrap helmet decidedly did not. Now she looks like an unbelievably hot motorcycle owner instead of a dorkily hot motorcycle owner. Ann hops to her feet, whistling and leaning around to get a better angle on her, snapping a quick photo with her own phone.

“Oh, baby, you look incredible! Now put that helmet on and let’s can do this!”

“Actually, I was kinda thinking...Can we wait a bit? There’s one last thing I wanna do tonight before we get caught up trying to one-up Akira.” She puts up her hand defensively when Ann’s first reaction is indignation at not wanting beat Ryuji and Akira at their own game, followed by anger at not wanting to spend time with her taking cute photos. “We can do it after, I just want to get it out of the way before we start doing stuff all night!”

“Mmmhhh, fine...But we’re doing it right after, okay?” Ann sits back down on the couch, folding her arms across her chest.

“That’s fine! Just give me a moment, I have to grab something.” She sets the helmet down on the table and disappears into the kitchen, returning with two flutes of champagne in her hands. Makoto sits down next to Ann, going to hold one out to her then suddenly switching, offering her the other flute. Ann takes it, grimacing.

“God, I hate champagne. This is just for you, okay?” Ann takes a deep breath, eyes shut, and slams the entire glass at once before Makoto can say anything. Ann hates the flavor of champagne, non-alcoholic or no, but...There’s something weird about it this time, slightly metallic, and the weird feeling goes into panic when something small, hard and circular settles onto her tongue, which makes her open her eyes in confusion. Makoto’s not sitting next to her anymore.

Instead, Makoto is on one knee in front of her, looking incredibly concerned and blushing.

Oh shit.

Oh shit.

“Ann? Are you okay?”

Ann makes panicked noises and waves for Makoto to wait as she does her best not to swallow the champagne, trying to get the ring in her mouth somewhere safe so she doesn’t swallow it. Finally, she manages to catch it, swallowing painfully and groaning inwardly at the taste permeating her mouth. Makoto scoots closer to her until Ann smiles at her, revealing the diamond ring clutched between her front teeth. Makoto laughs in relief, putting a hand on Ann’s knee. Ann spits it out onto her palm, marveling that even covered in champagne and spit, the ring looks beautiful. She wraps it in her shirt and rubs it some.

“S-sorry, I just thought you wanted a celebration drink, not…”

“It’s okay! At least you didn’t swallow it.” Makoto clears her throat. “Ann...I had a whole speech planned in my head, but, uh, that’s gone, so I’m just gonna wing it. Bear with me, okay?” Ann nods, pulling the now-clean ring out of the folds of her top and holding it between thumb and forefinger in front of her, marveling at it the small, bright stone set in a simple gold band.

“Ann, I know this is kind of soon, but we’ve been through so much together, and I love you so much, and I want you to know that, and I never feel like I could do enough to prove it.”

“Oh, Makoto, you-”

“Hang on, I have to finish. I know I do a lot already, and I know that I need to let you in more, so this is my way of saying I want to let you in. I want you to be the best thing in my life. Not that you aren’t right now! But, I want you to be able to look at that ring and know that you matter to me more than anyone else in the world, and I want to do the same when I look at mine. I don’t care about whatever law stands in my way, I love you, Ann, and I want to stay with you for the rest of my life.”

By the time she stops, her eyes are watering, and Ann has been wiping tears away with the heel of her hand since Makoto started. She holds out the ring in her left hand, and offers her right to Makoto, who takes the ring and slides it onto her ring finger slowly, grinning even as tears run down her cheeks. Ann pulls her up onto the couch and into a tight embrace, sobbing freely into Makoto’s shoulder while she pets Ann’s hair softly. They stay like this for awhile, silent acceptance punctuated only by both of their tears of joy. Finally, Ann calms down enough to catch her breath, laughing now that the shock of the moment has passed.

“Babe...Makoto, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Ann. That was the last gift, so...Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas…” Ann sighs, leaning on Makoto again. “God, I’m tired, now.” Makoto runs her fingers through Ann’s hair gently, kissing her cheek.

“What, you don’t want to take the photo now?”

“There’s always tomorrow...Can you carry me to bed, though?”

“I think we’re only supposed to do that on our honeymoon, but...what the hell.” Ann releases Makoto, who scoops her up off the couch with a grunt of exertion and kisses Ann gently. “I know we just said I love you, but I really, really do love you.”

“Don’t get too corny on me now, Makoto, or this marriage is doomed.” Makoto snorts, slowly shuffling around the coffee table covered in wrapping paper. Luckily for Makoto, their bedroom is only a few steps away.

“I’ve got bad news for you, Ann. I’m always this corny.” Kneeling next to the bed, Makoto places Ann gently onto it then crosses to the other side to strip out of her jacket and lay down next to Ann, cuddling up to her side until Ann rolls over for her to big spoon.

“I’ve got worse news for you. You’re gonna be taking so many photos with me tomorrow, you’re gonna wish you never married me.” Makoto shrugs, wrapping an arm around Ann’s stomach and kissing the back of her neck.

“It’ll take a lot more of those than you think it will. Good night, Ann.” Ann’s response is a soft snore, her right hand with the ring on it linked with Makoto’s. Makoto chuckles softly, closing her eyes. Her last thought is that nothing quite like lying in bed with the love of your life to get you to sleep quickly, before she too is fast asleep.


End file.
